


Shades of Times Gone By

by carmenta



Category: Coldfire Trilogy - C. S. Friedman
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-06
Updated: 2007-05-06
Packaged: 2017-10-11 20:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/117021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carmenta/pseuds/carmenta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first and the second Neocountess of Merentha have a chat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shades of Times Gone By

"You should be afraid."

Turning towards the source of the voice, Narilka smiled and shook her head.

"I have no reason to fear," she said. "It's merely dark." And such a glorious night, almost pitch-black with the stars not obscured by the stronger light of moons and core. She recalled another night like this, when she had permitted a stranger to walk her home. Sometimes it seemed to her as though that first encounter with the Hunter had been a lifetime ago, and yet she still remembered the sight and sound of the dark fae as though it had been only minutes since he had shared his vision with her.

"Some might say that it is the dark you should fear most of all. This is the time of demons."

"And of ghosts," Narilka added, leaning back against the low rail of the balcony. She liked the solitude this retreat offered; not cut off from life within the castle, but still private enough so she could entertain her own thoughts. Or her more unusual guests.

"And of ghosts," Almea Tarrant acknowledged.

"It is a little too late to tell me that I should be afraid."

"Would you have believed me if I had said so sooner?" Almea asked. "Would you have feared then?"

Narilka considered, feeling the night's light wind on her face as she thought. "Unlikely," she said eventually. "I think I may have forgotten how to fear."

The ghost sighed softly, her translucent shape rippling for a moment like a lake's surface in the evening breeze. "It should not have come to this," she said. "Humans need fear."

"They are not the only ones," Narilka said, smiling a little to take the sting out of her words. Almea never took it well to be reminded of what her husband had done for long centuries.

"Humans need to fear," Almea repeated, her shape growing dimmer for a moment, as though the ghost was not certain whether she wished to stay. "And you also should not be bothered by the past."

"A little late for that, wouldn't you say?" Narilka returned. "Though I cannot tell you how glad I am that you didn't wait, or just stand by and watch."

She glanced through the open balcony doors back inside the nursery where her second child, her as of yet unnamed daughter, slept in her cradle.

"I take an interest in what happens to my descendants," Almea said. "Though I probably should not."

Narilka looked back at her again. "Should I be concerned?" she asked, not entirely joking. Considering the family history, that would have been utterly foolish where this matter was concerned.

The ghost shook her head, her dark red hair shifting with the motion. "No," she said softly. "I will never harm you, or yours." A pause. "And neither will he. You made him give you his word, and he will not break it."

Narilka nodded and turned to glance down into the wide main courtyard. Dark at this time of the night, when no guests were expected anymore and every member of the household was accounted for. Only a few lamps near the gates and blackness beyond that. True night had fallen half an hour ago, and it would last almost until morning. The time for demons and fae-constructs. And for ghosts, which was why Narilka had withdrawn to the nursery's balcony where she would not be disturbed. She didn't think Andrys would take it well to find out that he had more than one ancestor who took an active interest in the Tarrant line's progress.

"He has found out about the demon by now," Narilka said, staring into the darkness. If there were more light, she would be able to see the closest forest from here. She could not see so far in the dark, and she had no proof, but she was certain that the demon had come from here. The small copse of trees did not compare to the Forest the Hunter had created, but she knew the effect such darkness could have on the fae.

"Has he said anything?" Almea asked, a hint of wistfulness in her voice that had puzzled Narilka the first time she had heard her speak of her husband. She hadn't thought that the ghost would feel that way about her murderer.

"Not in the last letter," she answered. "But we received a box with enough wards to cover the entire castle."

It had been difficult to explain where she had got them from, and if Andrys had truly wanted to find out, Narilka would have told him. But he didn't like to think so much about the fae, and so he didn't question the coincidence of finding so many wards in an unused room. Still she was careful and let one of the maids make the discovery, and she had made certain that the wards were thoroughly tested. Not because she doubted their strength and stability, but to assure Andrys that they were real and should be used.

Narilka still wondered why she did not feel bad about not telling the entire truth to her husband. Then again, she knew what he could handle and what would be too much. Knowing that the man who had been the Hunter was aware of what was happening in Merentha definitely qualified as the latter.

"He worries," Almea said. "And you made him promise that he would protect your children. He could not have done anything different."

"I know, but I would still be more comfortable if he were not taking care of things quite that directly." Narilka leaned against the cool stone of the balustrade, the surface of the carved stone smooth and polished under her hands. Numarble, the best quality that could be found. She was still amazed that it had been possible to build such a magnificent castle only three centuries after mankind had been robbed of Earth's heritage.

It was a while until Almea responded. "You fear him," she stated quietly.

Narilka shook her head. "Not him," she said. "I never feared him after our first meeting. But I know what he is capable of."

The ghost didn't respond to that. She didn't need to; Narilka could see the small trails of blood on her dress, and sometimes a gesture would reveal the wounds underneath the garments. There was no doubt that all the tales about the corruption of the first Neocount were true. And even if Almea hadn't convinced Narilka, the other ghosts might have. Merentha castle was haunted by more than one spirit. A young man in the stables, another on the main stairs. The old woman who stayed close to the doorway leading down below to the underground workrooms. The girl in the kitchen. And the first Neocountess, who kept them all in check so the living inhabitants of the castle had nothing to fear.

Narilka had heard rumours about the castle's supernatural occupants even before her wedding, and had soon after found out that they weren't just fiction. The old lady had been the first she had seen, and the only one to startle her. The others had caught her interest when she had seen them, long enough to make her look up their history. Tarrants, all of them, victims of the purges the Hunter had imposed on his descendants to keep them in line.

She hadn't feared them. There was so little she feared anymore. It was as though the Hunter had taken away her capacity for that particular emotion when she had been at his mercy in the Forest and he had let her go.

Almea Tarrant was the most recent ghost Narilka had encountered, and also the only one who showed an interest in her surroundings. It had been strange at first, and Narilka had been on her guard when the ghost had begun to speak to her. Then Almea had saved her youngest descendant when a demon had gotten into th castle and almost reached the baby's cradle. Narilka was not certain how an immaterial, translucent being could tear a creature of flesh and blood into shreds, and she didn't really want to know the answer. It was enough, though, for her to approach the first Neocountess and thank her, and they had continued to speak after that.

Narilka was getting used to the Tarrants' peculiarities by now. She also figured that while they were probably the only family with someone like the Hunter in their history, ghosts couldn't be entirely uncommon. The thought made her feel a little better about it all. If it was normal, then her lack of fear might not be so strange.

"True night will be over soon," she said eventually, still looking out into the darkness. She thought of what it had been like, that night when she had shared the Hunter's sight. Was it still the same?

"Sooner than you maybe think," the ghost said quietly, her voice fading. "Only a few more moments before the first moon will rise."

Narilka finally turned around again, a small smile on her face. "I will see you again?" she asked.

Almea Tarrant returned her smile. "You will," she promised before she faded into nothingness again.


End file.
